Draper seal for crop header

ABSTRACT

A header includes a forwardly disposed cutter bar assembly and a rearwardly disposed draper deck assembly. The draper seal includes a flexible strip that runs parallel to the cutter bar assembly and perpendicular to the direction of travel. A bracket secures the forward edge of the flexible strip to an upper surface of the cutter bar assembly, which bracket also biases a rearward edge of the flexible strip into engagement with an upper surface of the draper deck assembly, thereby creating a seal between the cutter bar assembly and the draper deck assembly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/410,174 filed on May 13, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,694,675 issued onJun. 30, 2020), which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/453,161 filed on Mar. 8, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,285,331issued on May 14, 2019), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/766,800 filed on Feb. 14, 2013 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,635,810 issued on May 2, 2017), which claims priority to CanadianPatent Application Serial No. 2,799,093 filed on Dec. 18, 2012. Theentire contents of the aforementioned applications are herebyincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to agricultural implements for harvesting crops,and more particularly to harvesting headers comprising a draper deck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known in the field of crop harvesting equipment to employharvesting headers to cut crops for various purposes, such as feeding acombine harvester or swathing crop material. Such harvesting headers maycomprise a cutter bar assembly for cutting the crop material, and adraper deck assembly for transporting the cut crop material to a desiredlocation (e.g. the intake for a combine harvester). The draper deckassembly normally comprises two spaced-apart rollers for receiving acontinuous loop of draper fabric or canvas, with a support plate fixedunder the upper run of draper canvas and disposed between the rollers.In operation, the implement is driven into the standing crop, with thecutting edge assembly at the leading edge of the implement. After thecutting edge assembly cuts the crop material, the crop material fallsand/or is moved rearwardly onto the generally horizontal draper deckassembly and then transported perpendicular to the direction of travelby the draper deck assembly and deposited either on the ground or at anintake for subsequent processing. Such an arrangement has many knownbenefits and has achieved wide acceptance and use.

However, it has been recognized that traditional cutter/draperarrangements as described above may generate undesirable results. In thetraditional arrangement, the cutter bar assembly is slightly spaced fromthe draper deck assembly, and the gap between the two assemblies canreceive chaff, mud, plant juices and other materials that can accumulateon surfaces adjacent the gap and ultimately interfere with optimaloperation of the implement.

Some attempts have been made to address this problem by sealing the gapbetween the cutter bar assembly and the draper deck assembly. In onesuch attempt, for example, a John Deere Model 800 header was providedwith a sealing plate mounted on the cutter bar assembly and extendingrearwardly over the forward edge of the draper deck assembly. However,it has been recognized that the draper canvas can become pinched betweenthe sealing plate and the support plate underlying the draper canvas,resulting in wear, and it has been noted that accumulation ofundesirable materials was still evident.

In response to this identified deficiency, an alternative solution wasproposed in Canadian Patent No. 2,138,939 to MacDon Industries Ltd. Inthis alternative solution, the support plate and rollers were shiftedrearwardly of the leading edge of the draper canvas, resulting in acantilevered edge of the draper canvas that could be in contact with anoverhanging sealing plate without binding against the support plate inoperation. However, there is an obvious lack of support for the forwardedge of the draper canvas, with the risk that undesirable materials canstill foul the moving parts of the implement.

What is needed, therefore, is a solution that provides a reliable sealand does not detract from the integrity of the draper canvasfunctionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a draper seal that iscomposed of a flexible material in order to avoid binding of the drapercanvas, while preventing fouling of implement components fromundesirable material accumulation.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided adraper seal for a harvesting header, where the header comprises a frameon which is mounted a forwardly disposed cutter bar assembly and arearwardly disposed draper deck assembly. The draper deck assemblycomprises two spaced-apart rollers on which a continuous loop of drapercanvas is mounted, and a support plate disposed underneath an upper runof the draper canvas and between the rollers. The draper seal comprisesa flexible strip that runs parallel to the cutter bar assembly andperpendicular to the direction of travel, the flexible strip having aforward edge and a rearward edge. A bracket secures the forward edge ofthe flexible strip to an upper surface of the cutter bar assembly, whichbracket also extends rearwardly to bias the rearward edge of theflexible strip into engagement with an upper surface of the drapercanvas, thereby creating a seal between the cutter bar assembly and thedraper deck assembly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is aprovided a harvesting header comprising a frame, a forwardly disposedcutter bar assembly mounted on the frame, a rearwardly disposed draperdeck assembly mounted on the frame, and a draper seal mounted on thecutter bar assembly. The draper deck assembly comprises two spaced-apartrollers on which a continuous loop of draper canvas is mounted, and asupport plate disposed underneath an upper run of the draper canvas andbetween the rollers. The draper seal comprises a flexible strip thatruns parallel to the cutter bar assembly and perpendicular to thedirection of travel, the flexible strip having a forward edge and arearward edge. A bracket secures the forward edge of the flexible stripto an upper surface of the cutter bar assembly, which bracket alsoextends rearwardly to bias the rearward edge of the flexible strip intoengagement with an upper surface of the draper canvas, thereby creatinga seal between the cutter bar assembly and the draper deck assembly.

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the flexible stripand the draper canvas are both composed of a fabric substrate that hasbeen coated with rubber and then vulcanized. The bracket is preferablyan elongate metal bracket that extends the length of the cutter barassembly and secures the forward edge of the flexible strip with aplurality of bolts. The bracket preferably comprises a forward portionthat is configured to engage and be secured to the cutter bar assembly,and a rearward portion that is angled downwardly to press the rearwardedge of the flexible strip against the upper run of the draper canvas.The draper deck assembly may be comprised of a single draper canvas ortwo separate draper canvases moving cut crop material in a singledirection, or paired draper canvasses each moving cut crop materialtoward a centrally disposed draper assembly that feeds the received cropmaterial to a further processing unit such as a combine harvester.

A detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention is given in the following. It is to be understood, however,that the invention is not to be construed as being limited to thisembodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodimentof the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a simplified, partially cutaway elevation view of a draperseal according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a partial cutter bar assembly and draperdeck assembly with a draper seal according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adjacent cutter bar assembly anddraper deck assembly with a draper seal according to the presentinvention.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Only those parts of the header as are necessary for description of thedraper seal are shown in the accompanying drawings and discussed herein,as the remaining parts and functions of the header are conventional andare well known to those skilled in the art.

Turning to FIG. 1, a header 10 according to the present invention isillustrated. The header comprises a frame 12 on which a cutter barassembly 14 and a draper deck assembly 16 are mounted in a conventionalmanner.

The draper deck assembly 16 comprises a first roller 18 and a secondroller (not shown) spaced apart from each other in a directiontransverse to the direction of travel, which direction of travel isindicated by the letter D in FIG. 1. The rollers are mounted and poweredin a conventional manner that will accordingly not be discussed furtherherein. The rollers provide support for a draper canvas 20, which is acontinuous loop of material commonly formed by taking a fabric andcoating it with rubber, which is then vulcanized and formed as desiredfor the particular application. The draper canvas 20, when installed onthe rollers, has an upper run 22 passing above the rollers and a lowerrun 24 passing beneath the rollers, the upper run 22 presenting an uppersurface 26 for receipt of cut crop materials during operation. An outersurface of the draper canvas 20 is provided with transverse slats 28which run parallel to the direction of travel D and are commonlyemployed to aid in moving cut crop material along the draper deckassembly 16. The draper canvas 20 and slats 28 can best be seen in FIGS.2 and 3. A support plate (not shown) is commonly provided between therollers and immediately beneath the upper run 22 of the draper canvas 20to provide support to the draper canvas 20. It is to be noted that thedraper deck assembly 16 may be comprised of a single draper canvas 20 ortwo separate draper canvases moving cut crop material in a singledirection, or paired draper canvasses each moving cut crop materialtoward a centrally disposed draper assembly that feeds the received cropmaterial to a further processing unit such as a combine harvester; thiswill depend on the specific application and is not intended to limit thescope of the present invention.

The cutter bar assembly 14 comprises a beam 36, which beam 36 comprisesan upper portion 38 that is disposed forward of and above the uppersurface 26 of the draper canvas 20.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 3, a draper seal according to the presentinvention comprises a bracket 42 and a flexible strip 30. The bracket 42as illustrated is an elongate metal member that extends the length ofthe cutter bar assembly 14. The bracket 42 comprises a forward portion46 and a rearward portion 48. The forward portion 46 of the bracket 42is secured to an upper surface 44 of the upper portion 38 of the beam 36by means of a series of bolts 50 that pass through aligned holes 40 inthe bracket 42 and beam 36. As can best be seen in FIG. 1, the rearwardportion 48 of the bracket 42 extends rearwardly of the upper portion 38of the beam 36 and angles downwardly toward the draper canvas 20.

The flexible strip 30 runs the length of the bracket 42 and comprises aforward edge 32 and a rearward edge 34. The forward edge 32, as can bestbe seen in FIG. 1, is secured between the bracket 42 and the upperportion 38 of the beam 36 by means of the bolts 50. The rearward edge 34extends rearwardly of the cutter bar assembly 14 and the bracket 42. Therearward portion 48 of the bracket 42 is angled downwardly toward thedraper canvas 20, which has the effect of biasing the rearward edge 34of the flexible strip 30 downwardly and into contact with the uppersurface 26 of the draper canvas 20. The flexible strip 30 is preferablycomposed of a material similar to the draper canvas 20, namely a fabricthat has been coated with rubber and vulcanized, which material hassufficient flexibility to contact the upper surface 26 of the drapercanvas 20 without causing binding of the draper canvas 20 against thesupport plate.

The bracket 42 is shown as having a downwardly angled rearward portion48, but it is also within the scope of the present invention to have abracket that is in a single plane and is mounted to the cutter barassembly in such a way that it rests in a plane that is angled towardthe draper canvas 20 to bias the flexible strip 30 against the drapercanvas 20.

As can be readily seen, then, there are numerous advantages provided bythe present invention. The gap that would otherwise be present betweenthe cutter bar assembly and the draper deck assembly is closed, thusavoiding accumulation of undesired materials. Also, the draper sealcomprises a flexible strip that can press against the upper surface ofthe draper canvas in operation without causing binding and wear of thedraper canvas, and it is not necessary to leave any forward part of thedraper canvas unsupported. Finally, it is to be noted that the presentinvention provides a solution that involves a simple and rugged designappropriate to the anticipated operating conditions.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Thus, while certain aspects and embodiments of theinvention have been described, these have been presented by way ofexample only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.The scope of the claims should not be limited by the exemplaryembodiments set forth in the foregoing, but should be given the broadestinterpretation consistent with the specification as a whole.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A harvesting header comprising: a frame; aforwardly disposed cutter bar assembly mounted on the frame and operableto cut crop to generate crop material; a rearwardly disposed draper deckassembly mounted on the frame the draper deck assembly comprising twospaced-apart rollers on which a continuous loop of draper material ismounted, said draper canvas having an upper conveyor surface beingoperable to move in a direction of movement that is transverse to adirection of travel of the harvesting header, said upper conveyorsurface operable to receive and move said cut crop in said direction ofmovement, and a draper seal apparatus comprising: a continuous flexiblestrip oriented substantially parallel to the cutter bar assembly andsubstantially perpendicular to a direction of travel of the harvestingheader, the flexible strip having a forward edge and a rearward edge;and a bracket mounted on the cutter bar assembly, the bracket configuredto secure the forward edge of the flexible strip adjacent an uppersurface of the cutter bar assembly; wherein the bracket extendsrearwardly and is operable such that said bracket biases the rearwardedge of the flexible strip into substantially continuous engagement withan upper surface of the draper canvas during movement, in operation, ofsaid draper canvas, to provide a seal at the rearward edge of theflexible strip and a leading edge region of the draper canvas betweenthe cutter bar assembly and the draper deck assembly.
 2. The harvestingheader of claim 1 wherein the flexible strip and the draper canvas areboth composed of a fabric substrate coated with vulcanized rubber. 3.The harvesting header of claim 1 wherein the bracket is an elongatemetal bracket that extends the length of the cutter bar assembly.
 4. Theharvesting header of claim 1 wherein the bracket secures the forwardedge of the flexible strip with a plurality of bolts.
 5. The harvestingheader of claim 1 wherein the bracket comprises a forward portion thatis configured to engage and be secured to the cutter bar assembly, and arearward portion that is angled downwardly to bias the rearward edge ofthe flexible strip into engagement with the upper surface of the drapercanvas.
 6. The harvesting header of claim 1 wherein the draper deckassembly comprises a single draper canvas or two separate drapercanvases moving cut crop material in a single direction.
 7. Theharvesting header of claim 1 wherein the draper deck assembly comprisespaired draper canvasses each moving cut crop material toward a centrallydisposed draper assembly that feeds the received crop material to afurther processing unit.
 8. The harvesting header of claim 1 wherein thedraper deck assembly further comprises a support plate disposed beneathan upper run of the draper canvas and between the rollers, the bracketbiasing the rearward edge of the flexible strip such that the upper runof the draper canvas is loosely received between the rearward edge ofthe flexible strip and the support plate.